Marion County Sheriff's Department receives opioid funds for drug enforcement
Marion County Sheriff Roger Cunningham said his goal is prevention.
'You're speeding, we stop you, find drugs. We take you off the street to make it safer for people,' Cunningham said. 'We're preventing negative outcomes from happening. That's what we're doing, that's what preventative means.'
Cunningham said the department will spend its opioid money on training and equipment to help advance its goal. Cunningham said training is important, including physical training, because officers need to be ready for what might happen during a traffic stop or call. There are different SWAT schools where officers train, Cunningham said, but some of the training will be provided in-house by the sheriff's chief deputy who has expertise on the subject. Cunningham said the training helps officers learn how to establish probable cause in case there's a suspicion of drug activity and what questions to ask a suspect.
As far as equipment goes, Cunningham said the money will help bolster the department's supplies, such as evidence bags, drug testing kits, radar guns, ammunition and other general items. The money could also be used to acquire newer vehicles by replacing aging cruisers, he said. The grant also allows the county to pay its regional jail bill.
Cunningham emphasized the size of the drug epidemic in Marion County, saying drug activity is still a major problem in the county. Last month, a multiagency law enforcement operation arrested 30 people in Marion County as part of a large-scale drug bust. The operation resulted in a total of 87 felony drug arrests, 81 of which were related to fentanyl.
The FBI's Crime Data explorer reported 81 drug/narcotic violations reported by population in 2023 through data collected from the Marion County Sheriff's Office. The West Virginia State Police made 27 DUI arrests last year, and seized $44,804 worth of drugs in Marion County. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources counted 21 overdose deaths in Marion County, with 16 of them being connected to opioids. However, the department cautioned about use of its data saying the numbers for 2024 are preliminary and subject to change as more information becomes available.
Cunningham said narcotics outweighed alcohol when it came to DUI stops in the area. His job is not to provide treatment services through the Sheriff's Department.
'They have to go through the process, through the court system and the court decides where they go,' he said. 'We don't decide where they go. Our job is to take them off the street.'
Cunningham wants to see offenders get all the resources they need to recover from substance use disorder, but the individual has to want to change, he said. Cunningham said to be proactive means changing the outcome for families that are suffering with loved ones who are addicted.
'We take that person off the street because that person's a danger to the public driving under the influence,' he said.
Cunningham also thanked the City of Pleasant Valley and its city council and mayor for donating $20,000 to the Sheriff's Department to help provide better equipment.
In other business:
North Central West Virginia Airport Director Rick Rock also stopped by to request $500,000 for the airport's apron project. The airport authority approved a $6.2 million bid for the project, to pay for concrete and asphalt paving for an aircraft parking lot next to the new terminal. The City of Bridgeport kicked in $500,000 with the condition Marion and Harrison counties also contribute to the project.
The Commission also appointed Del. Mike DeVault, R-Marion, to the Benedum Airport Authority.
'We actually had four applicants, it's a tough decision,' Commission President Ernie VanGilder said. 'Some of the qualifications we're looking for was someone who had, perhaps a former pilot, was very familiar with the operations and airport. It's a little bit of a tough job to come in and not know that much about those operations.'
DeVault has been a pilot for 38 years. He's excited for the role, having previously sat on the Fairmont Municipal Airport Authority from 1988 to 1996. DeVault authored a bill in the state legislature that will let him sit on the board from outside Harrison County. Previously, the law required members to reside in the same city or county. The NCWV Airport is a regional airport, DeVault said, meaning two entities or more. The revised law allows residents of the cities or counties which created the airport to sit on its board. This lets residents who don't live in the same county as the airport but still live in the region it covers to serve as a member.
DeVault is replacing Butch Tennant, who passed away last month. DeVault introduced the bill in February. VanGilder and Commissioner Bobby DeVaul told DeVault NCWV could use somebody that understands airports and aircraft movement.
DeVault said NCWV Airport is a huge economic driver of the region, and houses prominent aircraft maintenance firms such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
'We're on the East Coast Flyway, everything from New York, Boston area, clear to Florida,' he said. 'You got tons of big cities. So not only the commercial carriers, we've got the charter jets, the business aircraft. We're in the middle of it. We just need to capitalize. I'm excited about it.'
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